As we reflect on 2019, we see some notable shifts in the threat landscape, with businesses facing new levels of complexity
in fraud orchestration. Rather than looking for the quick buck, fraudsters are playing the long game, with multi-step attacks
that do not initially reveal their fraudulent intent.
As the saying goes, ‘money makes the world go round’, and this could not be more true for the cybercrime underworld.
Fraudsters’ unrelenting demand for fresh user credentials provides the financial incentive for cyber attackers carrying out
major data breaches. When fraudsters successfully leverage the spoils from these breaches to make money, they will use
the proceeds to invest in more advanced attack toolkits and greater volumes of stolen data. As a result, organizations find it
increasingly difficult to defend against the barrage of attacks on their websites and apps.
The only sustainable approach to curbing the cybercrime cycle of success is adopting a zero-tolerance approach to fraud
prevention. Tolerating current fraud levels as a 'cost of doing business' exacerbates the problem long-term by providing the
financial incentive for fraudsters. In-depth profiling of activity across customer touchpoints helps organizations facing subtle
attacks that do not show immediate tell-tale signs of fraud. When combined with targeted friction, large-scale attacks
quickly become unsustainable for fraudsters who have become accustomed to circumnavigating systems that avoid putting
up barriers to users.
As the latest data from the Arkose Labs platform show, attack rates are continuously on the rise. Going into 2020, the fraud fighting community needs to finally win back the upper hand against fraudsters, protecting individuals and our society from
the effects of cybercrime.